


What About...?

by Mandergee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, Baby Names, F/M, Fluff, Philinda AU Challenge, Pregnancy, philinda au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-04-01 18:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4030798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandergee/pseuds/Mandergee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baby names. So many meanings, so many choices.</p>
<p>But for Phil Coulson...there are two names to consider.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What About...?

"What about Peggy?"

"Margaret?"

" _Peggy_."

"I'm not sold on it."

“Angie?"

"Have you been listening to yourself, Phil?" The mattress sagged as Melinda eased her body into bed, and Phil Coulson felt the warm, comforting weight of his _very_ pregnant girlfriend settle down beside him. He couldn't quite get himself to find another term that covered their situation and what she was in his mind ('girlfriend' felt odd, but neither had been interested in marriage at the time her pregnancy had _happened_ or even since, and any other term didn't roll off his tongue any more comfortably). "You've been reading them again, haven't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then you won't mind if I put this away for the night." Melinda had always been faster than he was, and despite her pregnancy he found that his own reflexes were still far from adequate as she snatched the old, weathered journal out of his hands. "I'm sure Agent Carter had better intentions for her innermost thoughts than to fuel our search for baby names, Phil."

"I'm sorry- but ever since you and Skye brought those up from storage, I couldn't put them down." The scent of time and what he'd imagined was uniquely Peggy Carter wafted up as Melinda gently closed the notebook, reached over to set it carefully on the bedside table. "She certainly had some interesting ideas on how to mold S.H.I.E.L.D in the early days."

"And I'm sure those ideas won't disappear overnight." Her fingers cupped his chin gently, bringing his eyes up to meet hers. The irises, he swore, were an even deeper brown, and in the back of his mind Phil wondered if their little girl he was convinced they would have would be born with her mother's eyes. He _hoped_ she'd have Melinda's sense of humor, the one that had slowly come back over time and was the highlight of his every day, the way she'd laugh just like she used to. "I love you, Phil Coulson. And whatever we decide to name this baby, I'm sure she's going to be the best thing that we've ever done together."

"I don't doubt it," He replied firmly, and smiled as Melinda lowered her hand, took his and guided it carefully to the soft curve of her belly. The tiny kick was swift and accurate, enough to send a wince fluttering across her face and have his hand withdrawing quickly. "Are you all right?"

"I think she's already learning hand to hand.”

"So _you_ think it's a girl?”

"I do." Her face contorted again, briefly, and Melinda sucked in a deep breath before releasing it in a steady hiss through barely parted lips. "Don't worry- she isn't here yet. But she might already be picking up bad habits, pushing back when I tell her to stay put.”

"Or that's her way of saying _she_ likes the name Peggy."

"Are we back to that?” She laughed, and leaned back against the pillows as the baby seemed to still within her belly. “What are you thinking? Peggy _Carter_ Coulson?”

"She could take _your_ name instead, so what about...Margaret Meredith May?"

“We're not supporting your Grey's Anatomy addiction," His partner countered. "But I _did_ like Angie, if you're set on pulling names from Peggy Carter's memories. Or Angela?”

"She never referred to her girlfriend as Angela- just Angie. To be honest, from my impression I'd think she didn't like the name Angela." He'd already read the journals cover to cover, up until the year that followed Peggy Carter's marriage, and while he'd never admitted it Phil imagined that Melinda recognized his disappointment at actually _reading_ about her marrying someone other than Steve Rogers. They'd both been cheated, he thought, the bitter thought brief and fleeting before Melinda's lips gently touched against his and chased it away. But he, at least, had found someone new to love. Someone new that he could make memories with to last a lifetime. "I know you're not sold on Peggy...but I do have another suggestion."

"We should settle on a name before the baby is _born_ , Phil."

"I know," He reached up, placed a finger against her lips. “Melinda Coulson.”

“Wouldn't it be a little confusing to the rest of us if we named the baby after...” He watched it, the progression from confusion to a slow, steady realization that spread over her face. Watched it with fascination and a smile, knowing that somewhere in the back of her mind Melinda was amazed at how she'd missed it, and just a _little_ embarrassed that she'd fallen prey to the 'baby brain' phenomenon he'd been teasing her about for months. “Melinda Coulson, hm?”

“Well, what about it?” The thought hadn't been a whim- it had been with him for months, since the moment when two blue lines appeared and Melinda May sat beside him to place a pregnancy test on his knee. Watched his face and he could see his reflection in eyes filled with tears of joy. “Make it easy on the naming process? Give us a last name in common and maybe the rest will just fall into place.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Her fingers threaded easily through his and she laughed again, leaned in for the slow, sensual kiss he'd been dreaming about all day. “Yes. I'll marry you, Phil. And I _like_ the name Peggy. After all, it was S.H.I.E.L.D that brought us together in the first place.”

“I think _I'm_ going to like how it all looks on paper.” Phil reached for the light switch, plunged the room into darkness and curled his body around the familiar shape that was his future wife and child. He did like the sound, the idea that the three of them shared a name and a love that was enough to bring their baby into the world and enough for her parents to shape the world into what they wanted _for_ her.

_Peggy Carter Coulson_ , he thought sleepily, as Melinda's gentle snores began to fill the room and lull him into unconsciousness. _I can't wait to finally meet you_.


End file.
